My 1973 TVR 2500M : Renew and Restomod

In reply to TVR Scott (Forum Supporter) :

In this latest picture it looks as if the upper caliper to bracket bolt will be trapped by the upright once the bracket is flush mounted.

TurnerX19 said:

In reply to TVR Scott (Forum Supporter) :

In this latest picture it looks as if the upper caliper to bracket bolt will be trapped by the upright once the bracket is flush mounted.

It's definitely close.  I just did a bit of measuring, and I think it'll clear ok.  That 12'o'clock spot actually has a little more clearance than if you go 15 deg in either direction.

The service caliper bolts aren't as deep as the parking brake bolts, and they're not nearly as long, so the clearance isn't quite as challenging.

More later...

Ok, more messing about yesterday.  First up, I redrilled the brake mounting plate to rotate the whole thing 30 deg forward.  The idea was to get the service-brake caliper in a non-horizontal position (for reduced stone collection and for better bleeding).

Drilled:

And test fit.  Short answer, this buys me nothing.  The service-brake caliper really isn't better positioned at all, and the hand brake flat-ass doesn't work at all anymore.  So screw you, 30 deg shift!

Back to the drawing board.  But in my case, not the drawing board.  Back to Solidworks and the 3d printer.

This works.  This rotates the service-brake 60 deg from horizontal, which looks like it'll bleed ok and not collect any FOD.

It also leaves the parking brake location alone, so everything is swell there.

Looks like I get to machine new parts.

Alas, there's always a catch.  My CNC machine has some slop in it right now and is not super interested in cutting precise circles.  I could mess with the backlash compensation in the controller.  Or I do have some replacement bearings tucked away, so maybe I'll tear into the y-axis and see what can be done.  I don't really want to, but maybe no time like the present?

Also, this caliper mount from Good Parts is steel.  I'm wondering what kind?  If it's just 1018 or A36, then I could replace it with aluminum and have almost as much strength.  If it's 4140 or something, then that's a whole different creature.  I could ponder a 7075 or a 2024 aluminum.  I don't know.  Always too many things to think about.

Give the service caliper mounting ears about 50% more at their root and use 6061 T6. It will be fine.

TurnerX19 said:

Give the service caliper mounting ears about 50% more at their root and use 6061 T6. It will be fine.

Sold!

Ok, more rear brake messing while I wait for aluminum plate to be shipped.  I printed this bracket to see if the service brake caliper would mount in the vertical position.

I was worried the fitting would be too close to the coil-over.  Short answer: it is.

Only maybe 3/16" there.  Definitely not enough.

Here's a view from the other side:

Yeah, definitely a no-go.  The "green" version will be the one that works, I think.

In other news, I spend a silly amount of time under the body scraping off - um - whatever this crap is.

It's like scraping a combination of dirt, brittle under-coating, and old paint all at the same time.  It actually does come off pretty clean with a regular razor scraper.  You can see a few spots where the original burgundy paint shows up.

The driver's side:

So much work to do rebuilding the fiberglass floor where the PO cut it out for the "roll-bar".  There's surprisingly little structure left!

Time for a little update.

The big thread on depression has been helpful to me, and a good motivator to keep moving.  I've been in a pretty dark place the last few weeks, and it's really good to know that I am not alone.

As that relates to this project, I hate to tell you folks, but I'm not going to be able to make this car perfect.  I've spent way too much worry on trying to get everything just so.  Well that's not going to happen.  Again, "perfect" and "never finished" are like best buds.

So I've been getting a little done on the new brake lines.  The safety valve thingy cleaned up really nicely:

I didn't realize that the front brake lines all have a larger tube-nut than the back lines - 7/16 vs 3/8.  Surprise!  On the bright side, I found out the originals are in very good shape - just cleaned them up and used them again.

Also, this car has a lot of brake line.  I went thru the first 25 ft roll and had to order a second.

I'm thinking brake and clutch master cylinder rebuilds would be smart at this point.

Things that need work: the trans mount doesn't want to line up anymore, and the custom driveshaft guy is ghosting me.

Onward.

My wife and I have an expression that helps me:  "It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be awesome".

In reply to TVR Scott (Forum Supporter) :

If it helps your funk I hope to have some engine porn for you tomorrow.  Just different engine porn than you might expect.

In reply to Stampie (FS) :

I look forward with great anticipation!

Hang in there, Scott.  I think this car will be fantastic.  The problem with perfect is that you don't want it to become not perfect.  This is for you to enjoy.

JoeTR6 said:

Hang in there, Scott.  I think this car will be fantastic.  The problem with perfect is that you don't want it to become not perfect.  This is for you to enjoy.

This is soooo true. I intentionally left flaws in the neon, miata, and truck. Just so they WEREN'T perfect,  so im much more likely to actually enjoy them. 

For me, it requires me to stand back and look at the macro picture from 10 feet. The three inch view need not be perfect.  We're going for something we love and will enjoy. Cant see the pitting or scratching in the metal of a control arm when its bolted in place. Brake lines blend in when everything else is bolted on

 Etc.

JoeTR6 said:

Hang in there, Scott.  I think this car will be fantastic.  The problem with perfect is that you don't want it to become not perfect.  This is for you to enjoy.

I agree with the fact that the car will be fantastic when done  because so far the attention to detail has been fantastic. A project of this magnitude is the sum of smaller task; if you settle for "good enough" in the execution of the many smaller task, then the car will be "good enough" as a sum.

When building the Molvo I found that the "Good enough" task kept nagging at the back of my mind. I did them cause I knew they were good enough but more often than not had more mental anguish knowing that there was a more proper way to do the task.

Be careful of the tipping point where you start to see yourself working on a "car" rather than just doing the one task that you are focused on. That's like the tightrope walker looking down and suddenly what was a nice walk on an uncrowded rope becomes terrifying.

So I would argue that you should celebrate the obsession one task at a time. The final product will emerge on its own when you are out of task to do.

There used to be a TVR dealership in the middle of the city here in Brisbane. I used to lust after those things.  I find once the car is built and driving i stop obsessing about the little details being perfect. 

   You see, I don't have these worries because I don't know perfection.  I've been fooling around with these British cars for over 30 years now, and I can tell you that the Brits didn't know perfection until the Germans started buying out their car manufacturers!  You'd think  that they'd never seen a micrometer until BMW bought up MINI.  The British seemed to have a more holistic grasp of what would make a car faster or handle better... it wasn't advanced engineering, certainly!  I look forward to getting my TVR on the road (and autocross course) and also hitting the usual car shows.  I know that other than at a TVR event the typical observer won't have a clue what's correct for that car/year/model, so I intend to do as much (or as little) toward making it correct (or perfect) as I want; or, in my case, I am able to accomplish with my limited skills and budget!  I know I'll have fun with it, regardless.

Thanks for the encouragement everyone.  I am feeling better about the world today.

I know it really isn't going to be perfect.  I sometimes stress about trying to incorporate all the advice given here.  But I realize I can always go back and add things later.  Or not every suggestion has to be followed.

In that spirit, I got some stuff done:

The transmission mounts are officially in, lined up, and bolt up correctly.

I did a mildly dumb thing, and originally made my nut-plates with the wrong size insert.  I used 3/8", but the correct size is 5/16".  Found that out when I went to test fit bolts thru the frame.  Nicely, the two size inserts have the same outer diameter, so I just had to drill out the old ones and press in the new ones.  Easy, peasy.

The other side:

Still need to get the "correct" hardware for all this, but I'm very happy to have it bolted in and fitting with the temp hardware.

In other news, I never posted this before but I got a nice item in the mail from Slow_M:

Heater box!  Thanks, Bernard!

Inside view with the heater core:

That's it for now!

Very cool build, I'm cheering you on and hoping you get back to powertrain work soon to pave the way. I'm considering using the 2.3EB with Miata trans in a Datsun Roadster, if it will fit. 

   Hey Scott, now that I have the back end pretty much completed, I'm thinking about the braking system.  When I looked up flexible brake lines (braided steel) at least one source gave two different sets as correct for the M-series cars, with different lengths. Mine were cut off (by me) so I don't really know what their original lengths were. Where did you source your lines?

   Also I looked back at the photo you posted of your brake lines shows them coming together on the frame above the transmission... my fitting like that was mounted to the frame down in front along side the steering column (IIRC).  Did you reposition it or is that the way yours was configured?

In reply to damarble :

Thanks for chiming in, and welcome!  The Datsun sounds cool.  Make sure to start a thread once you get the project going.

Stu, this brake piping is pretty close to what was originally on the car.  The front lines were on the outside of the frame and I've run them on the inside.  Didn't check my pics first.  I just took a really quick look at the factory drawings, and it looks like our two cars may be on different sides of a design change.

My brake lines came from Good Parts, though I seem to have lost the rear ones (grumble, grumble).  If I remember correctly, the front ones are 15", and the rears looked like they might want to be a little longer.  I was going to order some 18's from Pegasus, though I need to double-check that number.

Did a little more stuff today.  Added mufflers to the exhaust pipe and clamped the whole thing up.  I'm happy to say it still fits:

I need to figure out hangers.  A long time ago I bought some fancy J-hooks and rubber isolators, but now it's looking a little uncertain how to install them.  I'll need to ponder some more.

A pic of the back end:

I've got some other activities in process.  Updates to follow...

Whatever might I be doing here?

Give used a pair of sheetmetal L brackets with a sway bar end link bushing and bolt connecting the horizontal pars before where space was limited. It works well, but does transmit more nvh than the j hook and hanger.

Setting up the cad for your plasma to cut a new flange for you to make your own version of this with less rear protrusion?

hmm.. maybe not that. oil filter block plate for a remote mount setup?

bluej (Forum Supporter) said:

hmm.. maybe not that. oil filter block plate for a remote mount setup?

Basically you got it.  It's going to be a low-profile remote filter plate.  It'll replace the whole spin-on housing, and just have two 7/8-14 swivel elbows mounted.  Machined aluminum.  They have these for the Coyote but not the EcoBoost.

The existing housing and Mishimoto spin-on adapter just didn't fit at all.

Might actually fit on your projects as well.  I can dig up the gasket part number or housing part number if you want.

Thanks, but I ended up buying one of these for my e30 swap. Will probably keep the stock one in Betsy, because challenge. I think they're supposed to be interchangeable with the ecoboost motors. Not sure if you'd rather buy one after doing the cad work, now.

https://www.xero-limit.com/oil-filter-relocation.html